Alone in space A collection

Gr 7 Up--This compilation of Eisner Award--winning artist Walden's early work offers a look at her artistic influences and evolution. Short comics form the bulk of the book, including several created when she was a teen. The opening entry, "The End of Summer," influenced by Little Nemo in Slumberland creator Winsor McCay, uses intensely detailed and softly dreamlike art to depict a family's decline during a yearslong lockdown in their palace. Studio Ghibli cofounder Hayao Miyazaki also inspires the immersive fantasy worlds Walden creates in this and other tales. Unbound by proportion or panels, the author/illustrator portrays cats large enough to ride on and people who dwarf the cityscapes. Other comics tackle self-acceptance, identity, and growth. "I Love This Part" and "What It's Like To Be Gay in an All Girls Middle School" use soft linework and limited color to explore the awkwardness of girls learning to embrace their queerness. In all, the collection shows a clear visual and narrative line between this work and Walden's full-length graphic novels Spinning and On a Sunbeam. Though race and ethnicity are not explicitly noted, with few exceptions Walden's characters appear to be white. An illustrated Q&A between Walden and the Center for Cartoon Studies and a gallery of her sketches provide even more insight into how she approaches her art. VERDICT Aspiring artists and fans of Walden's other books will enjoy this intimate peek into the creative trajectory of a brilliant author and illustrator.--Carla Riemer, Berkeley, CA

In this dreamlike collection of previously published material, cartoonist Walden presents a series of thoughtful tales about home, belonging, and powerful emotion. Jumping easily from genre to genre, this volume features the self-contained stories of a chronically ill boy and his family in their mansion during a yearslong winter, two closeted girls negotiating first love, and a young woman's experience of giving up her supernatural life in the sky for a relationship on Earth. The collection also includes a number of shorter pieces created during Walden's young adult years. Exhibiting a style that references Studio Ghibli and Winsor McCay, Walden displays an encyclopedic knowledge of the genre that gives depth to the not-quite-our-reality in which her characters find themselves. Each story plays skillfully with ideas of space and atmosphere, and the most fully realized relationships throughout the collection are those between the protagonists and their often surreal and fantastic environments. The visual vocabulary provides wonder while reflecting widely relatable feelings about changing, growing up, and being in the world. Serving as a wonderful entry point for teens new to graphic novels, this collection is a gemlike encapsulation of coming-of-age narratives in gorgeous settings touched with magic. What it sometimes lacks in nuance it makes up for in beauty and immediacy. Readers will be drawn into Walden's surreal, empathetic universe. Most characters read as White. A seamless integration of art and feeling. (gallery) (Graphic fiction. 14-adult) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.